David Price

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 50th anniversary of the creation of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts. As a co-chair of the Congressional Humanities Caucus and a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I am proud to strongly support the important missions of these two agencies. The NEA partners with State arts agencies, local leaders, other Federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector to promote arts education and community access to the fine arts. The NEH remains the single most important source of Federal funding for research and scholarship in history, literature, foreign languages, and other fields that provide us with invaluable ethical, cultural, and historical perspectives. Both the NEA and the NEH merit increased support. This investment is one of the most efficient we make in terms of leveraging private, nonprofit, and corporate dollars. These programs are critically important locally as well as nationally, and they are the foundation of an arts and humanities community that supports millions of jobs. Let's honor this 50th anniversary by renewing our national commitment to the arts and the humanities and the many ways they enrich our lives.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this historic nuclear agreement reached by the United States and our negotiating partners with Iran. For the sake of our national security and that of our allies, we must seize this unique opportunity. In the midst of all these wild charges, let's just try to get some perspective. In fact, this agreement goes far beyond any negotiated nuclear deal in history. It will reduce Iran's stockpiled uranium by nearly 98 percent; it will permanently prevent the plutonium pathway to a nuclear weapon at Arak; it will disable and mothball two-thirds of Iran's enrichment centrifuges, including more advanced models; it will terminate all enrichment at Fordow; and it will provide for intrusive inspections of nuclear sites in perpetuity. This is an unprecedented degrading--not just a freezing, a massive degrading--of Iran's nuclear program. No military strike or strikes could achieve as much. I challenge any of the agreement's detractors to present a viable alternative that achieves the same result and will verifiably prevent a nuclear-armed Iran for the foreseeable future. They won't--and they haven't--because they can't. There simply isn't a viable diplomatic or military alternative for preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon. The notion that we could somehow unilaterally reject the agreement and still compel the P5+1 to resume negotiations is pure fantasy. Our international partners have made clear that reinstating the effective sanctions regime that brought Iran to the negotiating table would be impossible. For Congress to scuttle the deal would destroy our credibility as a negotiating party and would very likely put Iran right back on the path to developing a weapon. The stakes couldn't be higher. The nuclear issue should transcend political opportunism and partisan rancor. We should be working together across party lines to ensure the swift and effective implementation of the JCPOA. We should be exploring ways that we can enhance cooperative efforts with Israel and the international community to address Iran's support for Hezbollah and its gross abuse of human rights as well as other critical challenges in the Middle East. Today, we can start down that path by supporting the agreement. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the resolution of approval.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Scott Ralls, the seventh president of the North Carolina Community College System, who stepped down as president of the system this summer after seven years of service. North Carolina's community college system is one of the state's greatest educational assets. It is one of the nation's largest community college systems, and its reach is extensive, with most North Carolinians residing within 30 miles of one of its 58 colleges. The system serves more than 850,000 individuals annually, with 321,000 students in degree, certificate and curriculum programs and almost 500,000 students taking continuing education classes. Some 40 percent of the state's wage earners today have received some education or training at a North Carolina community college in the past 10 years. Dr. Ralls was an exemplary president, carrying on the fine tradition of leadership of his predecessor, and our former House colleague, Martin Lancaster. Taking the helm in 2008, President Ralls' tenure began just as the recession hit and the state's unemployment rate began to soar. During the first three years of his presidency, displaced workers flocked to the state's community colleges; the system's enrollment grew 28 percent from 2007 to 2010. At the same time, the system weathered a budget crunch, all the while embarking on a strategy to revamp curriculum, improve completion rates, and forge new transfer agreements with the state's university system. Even with these challenges, Dr. Ralls helped the System obtain international recognition for its efforts to foster economic and workforce development. Ralls's efforts included expanding health care programs, reenergizing technical education, strengthening the connection between economic and workforce development, and furthering strong partnerships between public schools, community colleges and the University of North Carolina System to promote seamless education pathways. President Ralls also focused efforts on improving student success. He was an early champion for early college high schools, and today, North Carolina hosts one-third of all early colleges in the U.S.--the vast majority located on the campuses of community colleges. In addition, in 2009, under Dr. Ralls's leadership, the North Carolina Community College System initiated a comprehensive set of strategic initiatives focused on student success and program completion entitled SuccessNC, consolidating curriculums into 32 critical growth areas for North Carolina's economy and providing students with opportunities to earn industry-recognized, stackable credentials, resulting in a more competitive workforce. The Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation recognized this model in describing one of the most ``forward-thinking economy-shifting efforts underway in America's state and metropolitan areas.'' During his tenure, President Ralls was elected by national peers to be the President of the National Association of Industry-Specific Training Directors. He also led a state task force responsible for creating policies and procedures for the New and Expanding Industry Training Program, which resulted in a 16% reduction in expenditures and 11% increase in total training projects. Further, he chaired a task force on workplace safety training and generated new policies for administering the NC Worker Training Tax Credit Program. Dr. Ralls serves on several national and state boards and commissions and is the Chair of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. He has earned a number of awards and honors, including a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Commerce (1995), and a Certificate of Appreciation from the NC Rural Prosperity Task Force (2000). He was also awarded the 2006 Freedom Fund Award from the Craven County NAACP, and was dubbed a 2007-2008 Impact Business Leader by the Charlotte Business Leader Magazine. Prior to serving as the North Carolina Community College System President, Dr. Ralls was president of Craven Community College in New Bern and Havelock. This makes him only the second former North Carolina community college president to hold the System presidency, and he is leaving to once again assume the presidency of a fine institution, the Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). While at Craven, he led efforts to support college enrollment growth, while facing significant impacts of military deployment. At Craven, Ralls led in establishing workforce development programs in targeted industry sectors; helped create Craven Early College; initiated University Connections to foster on-site and on-line degree completion opportunities, and fostered an Undergraduate Engineering Education partnership with N.C. State College of Engineering. Dr. Ralls, a leader of national distinction, is also an approachable, collaborative person who has been a delight for me and others to work with personally. He guided North Carolina's community colleges through the economic downturn and state budget cuts and oversaw a period of remarkable growth. Thanks to his tireless efforts, thousands of North Carolinians have had the opportunity to obtain the education and training they need to realize their full potential. I thank Dr. Ralls for his years of service to the state of North Carolina and wish him the very best as he assumes the helm at NVCC.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, I regretfully missed rollcall vote 486 on July 29th. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this misguided legislation offered under the false pretense that it has something to do with the tragic murder of Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. Make no mistake, Miss Steinle's killer should not have been on the streets. We must get to the bottom of the official misjudgment and negligence and the bureaucratic breakdown that led to this tragedy. As the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations, I take a backseat to no one when it comes to deporting dangerous criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety. But we also need to be very clear about this: this tragedy has nothing to do with so-called sanctuary cities. The bill before us would punish some of the most vulnerable cities high on the UASI list--places like San Francisco, New York, Miami, Chicago--punish them for exercising their lawful discretion in dealing with noncriminals or those with minor violations. They do this in order to protect the public and enforce the law, which requires trust and cooperation with immigrant communities. To scapegoat entire cities and make law enforcement less effective through this bill is simply inexcusable. I urge its defeat.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the Butterfield-Rush-Clarke-Price-Adams amendment. The December 2014 coal ash rule was a reasonable compromise between the EPA and the energy industry, based on sound science and three decades of research into the significant human and environmental health consequences of ash spills. I will oppose the underlying legislation because, as my colleagues have noted, it would unjustifiably eliminate, undermine, or delay the well-thought out protections included in this compromise rule. Our amendment gets at another issue. There is a great risk that this legislation could be especially harmful to some of our nation's most vulnerable populations--and here I mean pregnant women, children, the elderly, low-income Americans--because nearly 70% of coal ash ponds are located in communities where the majority earns an income that falls below the national average, and where communities of color are disproportionately represented. Our amendment is very simple--it would require the Administrator of the EPA to determine whether this legislation unfairly affects these vulnerable populations. If it does, its provisions would not go into effect. Misguided deregulation is one thing; outright discrimination is another. Let's make sure that we're not prioritizing the energy industry's bottom line over the health and welfare of women, children, the elderly, and low-income Americans. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, roads, bridges, and railroads are crumbling all across America. In North Carolina, which used to be known as the ``good roads'' state, over 5,500 bridges are structurally unsound, and poor roads cost drivers $1.5 billion a year. That's why I am so frustrated that instead of seizing the opportunity to build a viable transportation system with a long-term highway- transit bill, Republican leaders have instead elected to once again kick the can down the proverbial road and forgo critical repairs and safety improvements, to say nothing of new construction. Despite these grave reservations, I will vote for today's 5-month extension because I believe it will allow congressional leaders to negotiate the comprehensive transportation overhaul we so desperately need. However, like President Obama, I will not support future efforts to shirk the responsibility of rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. Short-term, stop-gap, extension-to-extension governance has become the norm over the past few years, and I'm frankly fed up with it. House Democrats are ready to get serious about making the investments we need to make to thrive as a country--I strongly encourage Republicans to answer the call.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the distinguished career of Harvey Schmitt, who recently retired as President and CEO of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. In the twenty-one years Harvey has headed the Chamber, he has played an integral role in transforming Raleigh into a thriving city known internationally as one of the best places in America to live, work, and run a business. Harvey has been a tireless promoter of the city's assets, often assuming the role of recruiter-in-chief. The enterprises he has helped bring to the Triangle include Red Hat, PNC, and the Carolina Hurricanes. He spearheaded the transformation of downtown Raleigh, creating the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, helping to revitalize Fayetteville Street, and leading the charge to build the downtown Raleigh convention center. He also promoted three billion dollars in school construction bonds to ensure that Triangle students learn in first-class facilities. As Ranking Member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, I particularly appreciate Harvey's contribution to modernizing transportation in the Research Triangle. He and the Chamber created the Regional Transportation Alliance to advocate for improved highways and transit and a diversified system for the future. Throughout his time at the Chamber, Harvey has been an invaluable asset to and a dedicated advocate for the Triangle. His tireless efforts and winning ways have left a lasting imprint on his adopted city. He has earned our enduring respect and gratitude, and we wish him the best in retirement.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, we have just learned that the Interior Appropriations bill will be pulled from the floor today. A number of Southern ``irreconcilable'' Republican Members apparently planned to vote against the bill, unless it permitted the display of the Confederate battle flag in our national parks and permitted vendors to sell Confederate souvenirs. This is unbelievable, and I say that as a Southern representative. It is unbelievable, after the unspeakable tragedy in Charleston and the action in the South Carolina Legislature yesterday to remove the battle flag from South Carolina's Capitol grounds. But the House Republican leadership last night chose to accommodate the Southern Republican irreconcilables with an amendment, and now, they are pulling the Interior bill, lest the irreconcilables bring it down. Mr. Speaker, we shouldn't have to debate whether a symbol of hatred and oppression in our Nation's darkest hour should be displayed on Federal lands. Is the Republican majority really that out of touch? Let us join together to take down that battle flag.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last year, I spoke in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). There are now less than 100 days until the expiration of the program, and I rise today to urge timely reauthorization of this critical conservation program. LWCF, which is paid for entirely by royalties collected from oil and gas companies, has financed generations of projects, bringing parks and open spaces to the hearts of our urban areas and protecting our natural lands, outdoor recreation opportunities, and working forests at the local, state and federal levels. Since its creation, the LWCF program has conserved more than 5 million acres of parks, recreation, forests, and other lands through the federal program and more than 2.6 million acres in communities throughout every state in the nation. My home state of North Carolina has received more than $200 million in LWCF funding over the past five decades, which has helped protect some of our state's most treasured places, such as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. LWCF funds have also helped conserve land to preserve viewsheds along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. I was particularly pleased that one such project included the Rocky Fork tract in the Cherokee National Forest in my native state of Tennessee. But LWCF does more than simply add to our public lands. Investing in LWCF is also an important way to grow our economy. In North Carolina alone, active outdoor recreation contributes more than $7.5 billion annually to the state's economy, supports 95,000 jobs, generates $430 million in annual state tax revenue and produces $6.1 billion annually in retail sales and services. Overall, outdoor recreation contributes more than $1.06 trillion annually to the U.S. economy. Every $1 invested in LWCF has been found to yield $4 in economic value. Without LWCF funding to stimulate matching investments from state, local and private entities, this crucial economic engine will be lost. These numbers prove the program's success, but I would note that the program is also extremely popular. In recent polls, more than 80% of voters expressed support for continuing to deposit fees from offshore oil and gas drilling into LWCF--this broad support extends from every geographic region of the country and every political persuasion. Supporters include governors, mayors, sportsmen, industry leaders, conservationists, Civil War enthusiasts, historians, recreationists, small businesses, forest owners, and the many Americans who see firsthand the tangible benefits this program has had on their communities and families. I know many of my colleagues represent states and communities that have benefitted greatly from LWCF funds. Although LWCF has a dedicated revenue stream from offshore drilling royalties and takes no taxpayer money from the general fund, large portions of this funding have been diverted over the years to non- conservation purposes. Even at last year's appropriated level of $306 million, we were a far cry from the $900 million that is annually authorized for conservation work. I am proud to be a cosponsor of the bipartisan legislation, H.R. 1814, that would permanently reauthorize LWCF. I strongly believe Congress should uphold its decades long commitment to land and water conservation and reinvigorate LWCF, thereby expanding opportunities for all Americans to have access to parks and natural areas for outdoor recreation. With the expiration coming in September 2015, the time to reauthorize Land and Water Conservation Fund is now.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I voted against H.R. 160, not because I believe that the current tax on the device industry is perfect, but because I object to the Majority's fixation on passing permanent tax repeals without offsets. As the representative from a part of our country that is known around the world for its research and innovation, I fully understand the importance of the device industry to the health and wellness of Americans, economic development, and our global competitiveness. Medical devices have the potential to save and improve the lives of Americans, and the companies that produce them are helping our economy recover by investing in new technology and providing high-paying, high- skilled jobs here in the United States. Like other industries, device companies understand that the skyrocketing cost of health care represents one of the greatest threats to families, small business owners, state and federal budgets, and the overall economy. In part, Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act to help reverse this trend, and AdvaMed, the trade association representing medical device manufacturers, has supported policies to expand access to their life-saving products. The final law brought the original $40 billion levy on device manufacturers down to a $20 billion contribution through a 2.3%, rather than 4.6%, excise tax on medical devices. However, as the ten-year budget window has shifted, industry leaders report that they expect to pay more than originally predicted. We need to monitor this situation carefully and find a fair solution that accounts for the additional business the device industry may acquire as a result of the Affordable Care Act, while underscoring the need to keep the industry vibrant and innovative. Unfortunately, that is not the discussion we are having today. House Republicans are bringing to the Floor a bill that would, yet again, provide for a permanent tax cut without an offset. When this bill is added to the other permanent tax cut bills brought to the Floor this year alone, they add up to more than $610 billion in tax cuts without even a penny of an offset. The point is not that tax reductions or expenditures without offsets are never justified. Rather, they need to be part of a coherent, comprehensive budget strategy. This is not a debate about innovation and economic development as the Majority would like you to believe. This debate is about fiscal responsibility; it is about taking one tax provision and making it permanent without paying for it, without regard to implications for the rest of the budget. At a time when the House is bringing its appropriations bills to the House Floor, it is clear that reckless tax cuts like these have decimated our nation's ability to make the key investments a great country must make. Earlier this month, the House considered the 2016 Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. As the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee charged with drafting the bill, I can tell you that it, like the other appropriations bills this body will consider, woefully underinvests in our nation due to the Majority's wrong-headed refusal to adopt a comprehensive approach to balance our budget. Should the House Republicans choose to debate and refine the Affordable Care Act's medical device excise tax, I stand ready to work with them. Until then, I will have to continue my record of voting against the unpaid-for tax cuts the Republican Majority is bringing to the Floor in the 114th Congress.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Nick Gwiazdowski, a member of the North Carolina State University wrestling team, on winning his second straight NCAA Division I Individual Championship. Mr. Gwiazdowski is the first Wolfpack wrestler to ever win multiple NCAA titles and one of the most successful student-athletes in NC State's history. He finished this season with a perfect 35-0 record and holds a record of 55 straight wins since last year--the nation's longest current winning streak. North Carolina State has a long history of success in wrestling, with seven national championships. Gwiazdowski's remarkable victory--17 seconds into the championship match--adds yet another chapter to that storied tradition. Congratulations to Nick Gwiazdowski. Wolfpack fans everywhere are proud of your championship and look forward to your senior season next year and the promise of a threepeat.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding. Over the past 2 years, I have been a part of efforts, good-faith efforts, to write the strongest possible fast-track bill. But the process the legislation has gone through recently, with Ways and Means Democrats denied every opportunity to improve the legislation in committee, while Republicans were accommodated in the Customs bill with anti-immigrant, anti-environmental provisions, has moved the bill in precisely the wrong direction from what might have gained my support. Therefore, I plan to vote against TPA today. But I strongly oppose the devious and reckless efforts to bring down TPA by trying to defeat the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act. TAA is a good bill which reflects longstanding Democratic priorities, and the objectionable Medicare offset that it contained has been removed. TAA has been critically important in North Carolina. I refuse to put displaced workers at risk for the sake of a political tactic. I urge my colleagues, play it straight. Support TAA whether or not you support TPA.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I urge opposition to the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I wish to claim the time in opposition.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I rise in opposition to this amendment. It would nullify a critical enforcement tool that has been used, for example, to rule against discrimination and racially discriminatory zoning requirements, practices that exclude families with children from housing, discrimination by lenders, zoning requirements that discriminate against group homes housing individuals with disabilities. It is a critical enforcement tool, and it would be a very, very bad mistake to pass this amendment. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters), the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I do oppose this amendment. On the face of it, it simply restates existing regulations, but I fear there is another motive at play, that is, an anti-immigrant agenda. Let me explain what I mean. This amendment feeds into the widely held misperception that many undocumented individuals are, in fact, obtaining Federal benefits despite restrictions--verification procedures--specifically designed to prohibit such activity. We must not allow this appropriations bill to become a platform to denigrate immigrants in this country or to score political points at their expense. We need real solutions. We need to actually fix our broken immigration system. We shouldn't be wasting valuable floor time on amendments such as these. We would be better served by moving comprehensive immigration reform, fully debating it in this Chamber. We are ready to do that. We can pass comprehensive immigration reform, if the Speaker would bring it to the floor, this very week. Until then, I would ask restraint on amendments that in no way alter existing law and regulation and only serve to stir controversy, reinforce prejudices, and distract us from the business at hand. I urge defeat of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. Once again, we have an amendment that, on its face, simply restates existing law. In fact, the gentleman offering the amendment has acknowledged that existing law categorically prohibits HUD benefits from going to undocumented persons. What is going on here? What is lurking beneath the surface? I fear something is. An anti-immigrant agenda based on fear and prejudice would appear to be the answer. We are feeding into widely held misconceptions that so many undocumented immigrants are seeking and receiving Federal benefits, that Federal programs, Federal dollars, are being abused and misused. Well, we do need to have a remedy for our broken immigration system. As I said earlier, a comprehensive immigration reform bill, bipartisan, passed the Senate last Congress. It could be placed on this floor tomorrow and pass overwhelmingly. That doesn't appear to be happening. Instead, what we have is this drumbeat of measures that are denigrating the immigrant community. We need to have some restraint in this body on such amendments. They don't alter existing law. They do, I am afraid, though, stir controversy. They reinforce prejudice and stereotypes. They distract us from the business at hand. I think it is an unworthy amendment. I urge my colleagues to reject it, and I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I thank the chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.